Remember in elementary school you used to get summer reading logs and checks on books you were 'required' to read during your break? Some students never had a problem with these types of assignments because they loved to read any chance they could get. Unfortunately, there were also the kids who would dread reading and give up after ten minutes or pretend they did the entire assignment. Though at this age, it really didn't matter whether or not you did the reading logs, it was just a little nudge your school would give you to do summer learning. However, when students reach higher levels of school, especially around high school, the requirement of summer projects is actually a requirement. Lots of students complain that it is unfair to do assignments over the one, long break they receive, but depending on the class subject it is for, sometimes these projects are essential. Schools must be aware that if summer projects are always going to be required, the assignments should be student-designed rather than teacher-designed because students will have more urge to do them and sometimes the projects can interfere with summer plans, making it troublesome to get work done.

Summer is the only substantially long break that students receive off of homework, assignments and tests. Through the months of August until June, school does not cease. Almost every week, robotic-like students must wake up early Monday morning, suffer through eight hours of sitting and listen to a teacher go on about something like, why did the War of 1812 happen, how to dissect a frog, or solve for x. Five days are filled with this repeating schedule with two days to spare, and in my experience one of those days is set aside for weekend homework. No matter how much someone loves school and learning, eventually they need a break. Summer is the time to cut loose, hang out with friends, travel somewhere you've never been before and relax. Almost everyone has seen in a movie how students throw their books and papers up in the air as soon as that last day bell rings. Imagine receiving a final project the last day of school, requiring students to turn in on the first day of their next year of school. Now if that project was teacher-designed it might require a student to: 'write an eight page essay on the effects of propaganda use in your society' or 'create a tri-fold and 3-D display of a past, indigenous, tribe's village'. Just picturing these assignments make some people cringe. However, if summer projects were student-designed, people could create a piece of work that interests them and hopefully enables them to put in more effort on the assignment because it wouldn't feel as much like a school task. Student-designed projects could focus on what students question or wonder about in their day to day lives, peaking their interests and making the task feel more fun and creative. Students could receive a broad outline like 'write an essay' or 'create a display', and turn it into a unique piece that expresses themselves; something like a paper on endangered animals.

During summer a lot of trips and vacations are taken whether with family or friends, near or far. Nevertheless, each one requires people to leave their homes and travel with the minimal amount necessary to save space. In my experience, I once was gone for almost the entire summer. One week I was in Pennsylvania with my relatives and the next I was swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas. Now imagine if these vacations, no matter how long the duration, were to be taken away from students because of a teacher-designed, summer project. If one was to receive a project of this type, there is no way of telling how much time or the location required to get it done. For example, if teachers were to design a summer research paper on the history of where you live, it might be necessary to go to the public library to view history records. No one can do that or go there if they're skiing all the way in Colorado. Student-designed projects allow students to create a work period and timing schedule for when doing the assignment works best for them. This way they can coordinate when their prior to summer planned vacations are being taken and when they will be home or around an area that will allow them to get work done. Students planning their projects and work time around summer could mean multiple things. For example, when they will be home to create a display, whether the hotel they stay at will have wifi to get on the internet, or even who they will be with to conduct an interview if the project requires that. A lot of the projects teachers design don't put into aspect all these factors.

Some, especially teachers, might argue that having students design their own summer projects will lead to the minimal work necessary and a poorly done assignment. Teachers might say that students are primarily focused on their summers and just having fun, rather than getting something done that could benefit them in their next school year. However, if the project is required for school, that typically means it is graded. Students won't try to do the least amount work possible just to save them time, if that means they will earn a D on the project. They will start the year off poorly. The overall effect of the project will outweigh how much time and effort is put into it.

Overall, student-designed projects would be more beneficial for both teachers and students because these types of assignments create a unique idea of who you are as a person because it shows individual interests. If a project was deemed boring and just based on facts, teachers would be more likely to receive non creative and possibly plagiarized work. Students wouldn't care to try their best because this one task is taking time out of their long awaited break from school. In addition, student-designed projects also allow teachers assigning them, to have a sense of who their incoming students are, based on their projects.